Welcome To The End
by SongbirdxSinger
Summary: Picks up after the events of 14x20. While coping with their loss Sam, Dean, and Cas have to deal with taking down Chuck, but how can you kill God? In the meantime, the trio runs into familiar characters that should be dead while trying to put fifteen years worth of cases to rest.
1. Hurt

Chapter 1: Hurt

Numbness.

That was what Sam felt inside. Even after fighting off the dead in that cemetery and gaining a couple of scratches and bruises (along with the shot to his shoulder), he still felt numb. Perhaps Sam was in a state of shock. He witnessed Jack, the child he never had, die right in front of him. There was nothing he could have done to stop Chuck from attacking the barely two-year-old kid. Sam's heart was shredded into more pieces when he saw Castiel try to heal and comfort Jack in his last moments. Bless the angel for even actively trying to do something to help Jack because there was nothing for Sam to possibly do to protect him.

Sam took a deep breath as Dean patched up his shoulder. They were back at the bunker with Jack's body in the back of Castiel's truck. Neither of the boys wanted to leave Jack there so they gently picked up their son's body and laid him carefully in the back of the pickup.

_Not that we had to be careful anyway, the boy was already gone. _Sam had shut his eyes tightly and tried to concentrate on something else but all that came to mind was seeing Jack's burnt out eyes and the shadow of his wings scorched to the ground. _I couldn't even take care of the kid. I lied to his face..._ Sam shook his head as if that would help get rid of his negative thoughts.

When Sam opened his eyes, he discovered Dean was gone and his shoulder was all covered up. He hadn't noticed when his brother was finished or how much time had passed with Sam just sitting there alone with his feelings. He got up from the chair to search for Dean. They had a lot to discuss what to do next.

Walking past the kitchen, Sam noticed he didn't have to search for long. He took a couple of steps back before standing in the threshold of the kitchen. Dean was sitting at the table with his hand cupped around a glass of alcohol. As Sam walked closer, Dean poured extra liquor into the glass before sliding it down the table to where Sam was now seated. Sam took a sip as he observed Dean drink from the bottle.

"Where's Cas?" Sam questioned.

"Said he's setting up for..." Dean paused for a moment as he stared at the bottle in his hands.

Sam nodded his head. He forgot Cas hadn't enter the bunker with them because the angel offered to gather the wood they needed to make the pyre since he was the least hurt out of the three of them (Sam couldn't chop the wood because his shoulder was messed up and Dean ended up the worst with wounds on his arms, shoulders, and head). Sam wished he was out there with Castiel to keep an eye out for him. He was worried about how his friend was doing at the moment. If Sam felt enraged with himself for not helping Jack, he couldn't begin to imagine how Castiel was feeling towards himself.

Sam studied his sibling sitting across from him. Dean wore tired eyes. He saw his brother depressed a lot during their time together but it was different this time. Sam couldn't explain it but it terrified him whenever he saw his brother like that. Sam stared at the long thin shallow cut on the left side of Dean's face. It ran from his forehead to the side of his bottom lip - lips that were cut open and had swollen just a bit. He had random cuts and abrasions on his nose, around his right eye, and chin. Sam's eyes trailed down to Dean's bloodied hands. The blood was already dried and for the life of Sam he couldn't figure out if the blood was from Dean's split knuckles or if the blood belonged to the dead they stopped. Sam could also see the blemishes that were peeking out from under Dean's jacket on his arms.

Taking in his brother's injuries reminded Sam of the physical pain he was starting to feel again, mostly in his shoulder and the aches he felt on his back. He knew he had bruises still forming all over his body, which meant tomorrow he would be feeling the worst of it.

"What are we going to do, Dean? About Chuck, how are we going to stop him?" Sam watched as his brother's face went from broken to neutral.

"Like we always do, Sammy. We'll research and we'll find some way." Dean stated, but Sam knew his brother well enough. Dean didn't believe in the words he was saying.

"Yeah," Sam murmured as he stared at his half-empty glass of alcohol. He wanted to down it in one gulp but at the same time, he didn't feel like drinking his problems away temporarily. At least not yet. He still had to get himself through Jack's funeral and he wanted to be sober for that. Maybe after he could drink his heartache away, but for now he needed to remain steady.

_**...***...***...***...**_

Dean watched on as Sam got up from his seat and left the kitchen. He looked across the table to Sam's barely untouched glass of whiskey. He knew his brother left to go get cleaned up for later tonight and would not be returning to drink his glass. Dean couldn't let it go to waste. He set the empty bottle down and reached forward for the cup.

"Is it wise to drink that?" A deep voice spoke from the doorway.

Dean rolled his eyes at Cas. He snatched the glass and quickly downed it in one go as he scowled at his friend. Who was Cas to tell him what to do? Setting the glass back down, Dean responded, "Is it wise to be talking to me right now?"

Cas shook his head as he countered, "I just meant that you have a past with drinking-"

Dean cut off Cas as he blurted out, "You wanna point out my flaws? I'm literally in the presence of the infamous Angel of Mistakes." Dean briefly closed his eyes as he cursed to himself. He knew he was slightly irritated at Cas for reasons he knew were invalid, but he realized he shouldn't be ganging up on the angel. He had lost someone, too. They had both cared for Jack as if he was their son - Dean certainly knew Sam did, too. Jack was family and whenever they lost one of their own, the surviving ones couldn't afford to hold grudges with each other.

"Cas, I'm sorry..." Dean started to say but soon stopped. He didn't know how to continue. He understood he should apologize for his outburst a moment ago, but since he was apologizing should he discuss blaming Cas for his mother's death? Should he mention that he was sorry about accusing Cas of not warning them about Jack sooner? Should he bring up every little thing the past ten years he had blamed Cas for something that wasn't solely the angel's fault? Dean wouldn't have the time to apologize for every single incident that ever happened between them both.

Cas held up his hand as if to wave Dean's half-ass apology away. "I know you're not you right now. We're all still processing what happened. I just came in to inform you and Sam that everything's ready."

Dean nodded his head as he offered his friend a genuine half-smile. Even that slight movement had hurt the hunter because of his cut lip. Now that he was focused on the pain, he was becoming more aware of the other injuries that were making themselves known all over his body. They didn't bother him before because he was concerned about treating Sam first but now that he was starting to concentrate on himself, Dean was hurt all over. The left side of his face stung, his lips were throbbing, his knuckles radiated the worst pain to his hands, and his arms and legs felt like someone took a bat to them. Yup, tomorrow was going to be a bitch to get through.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I've been wanting to write the plot for this story for a while now but didn't have any inspiration until Season 14's finale. Please leave a review to tell me what you think so far and I will post the next chapter soon! _


	2. Saying Goodbye

Chapter 2: Saying Goodbye

Castiel took a couple of steps back from the pyre as his eyes never once left the corpse shrouded in white. Before they had covered Jack's body, Castiel had spent an hour holding the boy's cold hand while staring down at burnt-out eyes. How could he have let this happen? Cas knew he couldn't stop God but he should have been more attentive to Jack before all of this took place. Before Jack's life ended too short.

The deep regret did not cover the rest of the unexplained emotion Cas was feeling. The only time Cas remembered feeling this foreign response was when they lost Jack the first time. He didn't have much time to explore what he was feeling then because he was already carrying out a solution to save Jack. This time there was nothing the angel or the brothers could do to bring him back from the dead. Cas knew Jack was asleep in the Empty and as he remembered, no one was allowed to leave the Empty, not unless something powerful woke you up. Even then, the entity itself would not let anyone leave.

Castiel and Sam already had spread salt over the body beforehand. Now, they simply stood back out of Dean's way as he poured the gasoline. He glanced over to the taller man who stood a few feet away from him. The angel could still see the tracks of tears on Sam's bruised face. He didn't appear to be emotional now, though Cas could tell that Sam had been crying before coming outside. He knew he had to look after Sam because Cas remembered how much pain Sam had been in that first time around.

"How are you holding up, Cas?" Sam had asked him.

Cas sighed at the question as his eyes wandered back to Dean and the pyre. He didn't know how to describe the way he felt. Empty, depressed, and broken were a few options that came into mind. He finally settled on saying, "Holding on, I suppose. And you, Sam?"

Sam shrugged his good shoulder. Cas could tell that that movement alone had hurt the Winchester. "It's gonna be hard," Cas heard Sam admit. He wondered how tough it will get later down the road because right now he felt like he just might die. Losing Jack was the biggest failure he had ever experienced in his thousands of years living. "But it's not our first time losing those we love." Sam proceeded, "We will get through."

"How many more do we have to lose?"

"No one else is going to die." Sam declared.

Castiel wanted to trust Sam's words but he couldn't find himself to believe in them. He saw Dean walking back to stand between them. He held out the box of matches for Cas to take. As Cas did, he noticed Dean's purple and split knuckles. He glanced up at Dean's troubled face. He mentally shook his head at both of the brothers. He had offered to heal them but they had denied his help and Castiel knew why. They wanted to hurt from their injuries because of what they had let happened to Jack.

Dean and Sam pulled out their lighters. "Jack," Dean started, "I'm sorry... sorry I never believed in you from the start."

Cas glanced over to Sam, expecting him to say something next, but when his eyes landed on his friend, the tears were streaming down his face. He observed as Sam took a deep breath and cleared his throat, "... Sorry, I couldn't be there for you more, Jack... thank you for everything."

Cas did not know what he wanted to say. There were so many things he wanted to express but he acknowledged only four words that needed to be said. "I love you, Jack." With that, Cas lit his match and threw it onto the salted body. Sam and Dean threw their lighters into the forming flames after.

They stood there staring at the body now engulfed in the fire for a minute straight. Cas was so devastated by the reality of it all. "This wouldn't have happened if I had just…"

"Don't," Dean said as he shook his head. "None of us are going to walk away from this blaming ourselves."

Cas continued talking as if he didn't hear Dean speak at all. "I promised Kelly that I would protect Jack… and I failed."

"We all failed," Sam muttered.

"We did not fail," Dean cut in.

Cas sensed the older Winchester had more to say. When he glanced over to Dean, he saw tears trailing down his face. He didn't get the opportunity to comfort a distressed Dean when they had Mary's funeral so maybe he could be there for Dean now. Cas understood Dean was going to do whatever to make sure he and Sam didn't guilt-trip themselves for Jack's death, but Cas knew someone had to be there to release Dean of his pain. So Cas decided at that moment to put himself second to be that person.

He stepped closer to Dean's side and gently placed his hand on the hunter's left shoulder. Dean reached up with his right hand and clasped it over Castiel's hand. He didn't say any reassuring words to Dean, he settled on standing there by his side as he knew his presence would be enough. He watched the fire with Sam and Dean as they said one last silent goodbye. He knew the day was going to begin soon and already it was off to a broken start.

_**...***...***...***...**_

Seeing Cas, Dean, and Sam mourning his death felt wrong. He felt misplaced standing behind his family when he knew they were suffering. Jack was about to call out to them but a voice from behind him stopped his action.

"They can't hear you."

He glanced over his shoulder to see a dark-skinned woman standing behind him. He recognized her as the woman who had met him when he woke up in the Empty. "I don't understand," he said as he focused his attention on the woman, "Who are you?"

"My name is Billie. I am Death." She stated as she walked forward.

Jack was a little shocked at first but the woman spoke in a soothing tone, one that made Jack less afraid of her. "Why did you bring me here?"

"So we can talk."

Jack observed the three men in front of him standing close together. He wanted to tell them that he was alright but he knew he wouldn't be able to. "Are you going to let me be with my family again?"

"In time you'll be reunited with them. There will be a cost." The woman, Billie, informed.

Jack stared at the back of Dean's head. He remembered Dean pointing a gun at him and almost pulling the trigger but didn't. Did that mean Dean still wanted him around? "If I return, what will happen? What's the cost? Will Dean hate me?" Jack could tell that Billie sensed he was a little upset and a bit confused. If Jack returned and nothing changed, what would be the point?

"He won't." Billie assured, "If anything, he might question it at first, but nothing you won't be able to handle."

Jack nodded his head. He believed the Winchesters and Castiel thought highly of him. He was aware they had high hopes he was going to be on the good side but he had let them all down. He had disappointed the only ones he cared about.

Jack closed his eyes as he listened to the wood breaking from the fire. Hearing each loud pop made him startled. The pops started to sound different as if someone was snapping their fingers. This made Jack's mind force him into remembering his encounter with his Grandfather. He had only heard about the man and the things He had done before he had met Him, but after the fact, Jack concluded his Grandfather was not a good man. Even God had wanted him dead because He was afraid of him. Did that make Jack a monster?

Jack pulled himself out of his thoughts when the snapping sound faded away. He opened his eyes and noticed he was in completely different scenery. He saw Billie disappear into one of the many aisles in the room. He followed her until she stopped at one of the shelves.

"This is my reading room. You see this?" Billie asked as she rested her hand on a shelf where a lone thin black notebook laid. "As of right now, there is only one way you die. I know you're concerned about being possibly killed by Dean, but I can assure you it's not by him, Sam, or Castiel."

"So, I get killed again by my Grandfather?" Jack questioned.

Billie shook her head as she smirked. "God might have been able to kill you, but that's not how you stay dead."

This provoked Jack's interest. "Can I see it?"

"One shouldn't read how they die, Jack, but I get how curiosity works." Billie nodded her head toward the book. "The choices you make are what gets you killed."

Jack hesitantly picked the notebook off the shelf and opened it. He didn't like what he was reading so far. It seemed to had gone into great detail about the dangers of him using his powers to kill. When he got to the end, he was in disbelief at what he had read. "You... you are going to kill me?"

"Yes," Billie responded, "but not today and certainly not tomorrow." Billie took the book from Jack's hands and placed it back on the shelf. "You're powerful, Jack. You need to learn how to control it before you go back into the world. If you lose control, well, you read what will happen."

Jack took in Billie's information. He was shocked, to say the least at what he uncovered. There were so many questions racing through his mind though one stood out for him to ask aloud. "How will I go back to my family if they burned my body?"

"Leave that to me. Your body will be restored with your soul."

"My soul? You can do that?"

"I can resurrect life to any state I want it to be. Your soul is easy to retrieve and reviving your body won't take that long at all." Billie started walking out of the aisle with Jack following close behind her. "In the meantime, you'll be sent back to the Empty. I'll be there shortly to get you out."

Jack glanced down at the floor. He was upset to go back to the Empty as being there frightened him, but Jack knew it would be worth it. Soon he would be back with Cas, Sam, and Dean. "I understand."

Billie could sense the boy's uneasiness. Laying a comforting hand on his shoulder, she softly stated, "You're a good kid, Jack. I'll see you soon."

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**_Sorry I didn't get this out sooner. I saw Endgame on Friday and I still haven't recovered. A huge thank you to those who left a review and PM, I enjoyed reading your comments! Please leave a review or a PM as reading those motivate me more. I love to hear what you guys think so far of the story. The next chapter posted __will be __where we get into the story and I can't wait for you guys to read it._


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